


Subtle as a Steamroller

by Pixelatrix



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2014-05-08
Packaged: 2018-01-21 13:58:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1552916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixelatrix/pseuds/Pixelatrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scenes from ME3 as seen through the eyes of Lt. James Vega, with a dose of the romance that should've been there. Rated mostly for language.  Vega/F.Shep. Past Alenko/F.Shep Potential Spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that I originally wrote on FFnet, that I will slowly be migrating over here. It was one of the first ME stories that I wrote. 
> 
> Fair warning, not super duper nice to Alenko in this one. =)
> 
> Bioware owns all, etc, etc.
> 
> FYI: I plan to slowly migrate all of my stories from FFnet over here, well most of them in any case. This is the first one.

It was a chorus in Vega's head from the minute he had stepped onto the lift with the Commander and Major Alenko. _Pendejo_. The man practically gave the moniker to himself from Vega's perspective. Alenko had done nothing but whine except for when he questioned the Commander's loyalties, oh and then he had whined some more.

How the hell Alenko had gotten to the rank of Major was beyond Vega. Shepard was hero. She killed a fucking reaper. Admiral Anderson had never doubted her. Hell, Admiral Hackett wanted to give her a damn medal. So what gave Major Pendejo the right to question her?

He sat and fumed in the shuttle. Now Major Pendejo was the one watching Shepard's back along with some Asari doctor. He refused to examine the deeper meaning behind his sudden and intense hatred of the Major.

It was buried.

It was probably buried in the same place that he buried his damn near caveman-like desires to keep Shepard safe. No...not safe, she could take care of herself. He wanted to drag her into a cave and keep her there for other reasons.

He was still pissed off when the Commander checked in or when she attempted to check in. He was gathering a list of stupid things that were pissing him off: stupid Mars, stupid storm, stupid comms, stupid pendejo, and stupid hormones.

Why the hell would a woman like Shepard go for that pendejo anyway? What was it with women and moody men? Pendejos. The men of course, women were fucking awesome. The Commander ranked particularly high on his list of kick ass women.

"James?"

Shepard's barely audible voice through the radio static brought him back to reality with a snap. She wanted the Cerberus shuttle stopped, well he might not fly like Cortez, but Vega could stop the Cerberus bastards without any fancy maneuvers. As his shuttle slammed into the fleeing Cerberus shuttle, he had a brief moment to ponder over the fact this might not have been his best plan to date. And by Shepard's ‘get your ass down here now’, she apparently agreed with him.

And then Major Pendejo got himself all head banged by the crazy Cerberus cyborg.

Like he said, Pendejo.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." Vega slammed the Shuriken on the weapon's table. The thermal clip was now permanently fused inside the weapon. He should really start branching out his vocabulary. " _Fuck_."

"You all right there, Mr. Vega?" Cortez glanced around the edge of the shuttle that he was fixing. "We wouldn't want you to damage _another_ piece of equipment that I'd have to spend all day fixing, would we?"

"Can it, Esteban." Vega pushed away from the table, tossing the ruined weapon across the room.

Cortez leaned back against the shuttle, "It's comforting how I can always count on you to be so calm, so subtle and tactful about everything."

"Pendejo." Vega muttered, the word reminded him of the Major who was now in Huerta Memorial with a concerned Shepard hovering over him. He slammed his fist onto the table. "Don't you have a shuttle to fix?"

"Subtle as a steamroller maybe," Cortez raised an eyebrow at the overt display of temper. "You ok, man?"

There really wasn't a good way to answer that question so Vega decided to ignore it. He began to spar with his own shadow, slamming his fist into an imaginary enemy that strangely resembled a certain injured Alliance officer. He was starting to feel like he was losing grip on reality. He'd never admit to himself that it was jealousy. That pendejo wasn't worth being jealous over. He wasn't worth an extra ounce of effort or thought.

Yet, Shepard had rushed to his side the minute that she'd known Alenko was awake. Vega had to give it to the pendejo; he knew how to get a woman's attention. Maybe he could get Esteban to run him over with the shuttle. He smacked himself in the back of the head, this was getting ridiculous. She was just a woman. He resisted the urge to smack himself again; the problem was that Shepard wasn't just a woman.

"Pendejo." Vega muttered to himself.

"Why don't you just kiss her and get it over with, eh?" Cortez interrupted his self-recriminations and overall Alenko bashing.

"What?" Vega's head spun around so fast he almost slammed it into the raised shuttle.

Cortez smirked at him, "I know that look. Grab her. Kiss her. Get it out of your system before you do serious bodily injury to the innocent air you were pummeling over there."

Vega glared at him.

"Look, here's some free advice. Life's too short to shadow box the enemy." Cortez punched a button lowering the shuttle. "Life's just too damn short right now. If you want to regret something, why don't you regret doing what the hell we both know you want to do?"

"It's not that simple, Esteban." Vega sighed.

"Why? It's not like you fell for someone like Shep…" Cortez's voice trailed off at the look on Vega's face. "Oh you idiot, you ignore all the women that have tried to tempt you since I've known you, and when the world is going to hell, you fall for the one damn woman that you don't have a snowballs chance in hell with?"

"Thanks for the help, Esteban." Vega glared at him. "Great pep talk, any other cheerful thoughts you'd like to share?"

"I have some thoughts on your outfit and your sparring technique." Cortez remarked. "Oh and you are in serious need of a shower, you reek. It wouldn't hurt to lay off the extra huevos rancheros and cervezas. I think you're gaining weight."

"Does the word rhetorical mean anything to you, Esteban?"

"Yes. No. Hmmm, is it even possible to answer that question without answering it?"

"I surrender." Vega threw his hands into the air and headed for the elevator and the solace of the shower.

Vega stepped off the elevator and straight into the object of his obsession. Shepard dragged her eyes up from his chest to meet his. He was suddenly very aware of two critical things that he was fairly certain he had missed up to this point. The first was Shepard's cargo pants clung to her body in ways that should be completely illegal. The second was that Esteban had been right; he needed a shower…badly.

Shepard wrinkled her nose up, so she definitely agreed with that assessment. They did the ‘you're in my way’ dance for a few moments. Shepard finally stood still, waiting for him to make a move.

"How's Major Pen….Alenko?" Vega stammered while he stepped around her.

She quirked an eyebrow up at his near slip up. "He is doing much better but he's decided staying on the Citadel."

"Good. That's good…" Vega smiled, and then mentally smacked himself in the forehead. "I mean. Well, it's good that he's doing much better."

Shepard laughed and moved beyond him into the elevator. Vega watched the doors close then slowly rested his forehead onto the now closed elevator door. He slammed his head against the door multiple times while cursing under his breath.

"Lieutenant Vega, are you in need of assistance?" EDI chimed in after several moments of his assault on the door.

"Oh he needs assistance all right, but none that we can provide," Joker laughed.

"I do not understand, Jeff."

"Don't worry EDI, Vega's just suffering from a loss of blood in his nether regions," Joker added.

Vega offered a rather varied demonstration of obscene gestures on the off chance that EDI's surveillance picked them up. With a sigh, he headed for his long overdue shower. The reapers were decimating Earth, Cerberus was screwing with everybody and his groin had decided that now was the perfect time to find a new fascination.

_Fascination. Fascinating._

That was a great word for Lola. And she did look damn fine in her armor. He'd follow that perfectly shaped body into any firefight. Asking her to dance after the Mars mission had given him an amazing insight into her mind, but he should've known better. Women were always trouble.

There was so much to learn from the way a soldier fought hand to hand. Shepard was a thinker. She analyzed and assessed her opponent before committing to a specific fight. She'd dodged and weaved away from those first swings with ease, keeping at an easy distance while watching her opponent move.

She was an artist in war.

He'd watched her move through the streets of Benning while taking out Cerberus troops left and right. There was an elegance that was reminiscent of ancient fighting methods like aikido. So wrapped up in watching her move, he was looking up at the ceiling before even getting a chance to connect a first hit.

Shepard was a damn distraction, a beautiful, sexy distraction. As if it wasn't fascinating enough to watch her fight, the way her armor was cut to mold to her body was impossible to ignore. Vega had never before considered the sexiness of N7 armor until the Commander was squatting behind a crate waiting for a brute to pass on Palaven. Not to mention the brief glimpse of her stripping down to civvies before the elevator doors had closed once they'd gotten back to the Normandy. His imagination did a damn fine job of filling in all the blanks for what her body looked like underneath the clothes.

"Cold shower," He muttered to himself as the water turned on. "It is definitely time for a cold shower."

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

"I do not understand what Cerberus hopes to gain from attacking colonists." Liara shook her head as she scrolled through the data that Shepard retrieved from Benning.

"I would wager all the beer that I'll ever drink that it's the same thing that they intended to gain from that base on Tuchanka. Cerberus thrives on creating chaos, so much chaos that we won't notice they're in control until it's too late," Shepard remarked. "It's also possible that the Illusive Man has lost his damn mind."

"This war would be easier if we weren't fighting on so many fronts." Liara sighed then turned slightly at the sound of Garrus and Vega conversing. "The Lieutenant seems to be fitting in remarkably well."

Shepard bit back a smile. "Fit is definitely the word that I would use. The war would be a lot easier if I wasn't so damn distracted all the time."

"Commander?" Liara turned back towards Shepard. "I think the Major has some competition."

"What competition? Have you seen that t-shirt on Vega? Oh, goddamn it," Shepard remarked with a glare at the laughing Asari. "Laugh it up, T'soni. Let me go make sure Garrus doesn't tell all my secrets."

"Garrus doesn't know all your secrets." Liara's voice followed Shepard as she started towards the door to eavesdrop.

"Head-butted a Krogan?" Vega asked.

"True," Garrus confirmed.

"Killed a Thresher Maw on foot?"

"Also true, but she had help," Garrus answered.

"Giant plant creature?"

"We needed bigger guns." Vakarian's mandibles twitch in what Vega was coming to recognize as a smirk.

"Speak for yourself, Vakarian," Shepard remarked. She stepped out of Liara's office to find Vega and Garrus hanging out in the Mess once again. "My gun was plenty big."

"You head-butted a Krogan?" Vega sounded incredulous. "I mean, I know you've done some crazy shit, but seriously?"

"He was annoying." Shepard shrugged. "I drank a Krogan under the table that night as well."

"The only truth in that sentence is that a Krogan and alcohol were involved." Garrus corrected. "Though as I recall, Shepard did end up under the table."

"I could've sworn the damn bartender said rum, not ryncol." Shepard grinned at the Turian.

"You thought that they'd stock human alcohol on Tuchanka?" Garrus asked while Vega smirked at the Commander. "I find that very hard to believe, Shepard."

"Wrex can be very persuasive. And the bastard lies as well."

"Isn't that the night that you tried to…"

"Don't you have a gun to go calibrate?" Shepard interrupted before narrowing her eyes on Garrus who wasn't even trying to hide his amusement.

"Not really," Garrus started then took a step back when Shepard stalked towards him. "Oh, right. That gun, sure, it always needs calibrating."

Vega turned to face Shepard with a shrewd look. "So, _Lola_ , is there something that you'd like to share?"

"Nope," she answered.

She headed into the mess looking for a protein bar while completing ignoring the tapping fingers attached to a curious Vega. It had been a very, very long time since a man threw Shepard off her game. James had a cocky swagger that was equal parts sexy and amusing. Every time she thought her body would melt into a pool of sexual frustration, he did something that made her laugh until it hurt.

"What exactly did you try to do?"

"Skeletons belong in the closet, Vega," Shepard remarked. She finally found what she was looking for along with what looked like the last bottle of beer in stock. "Hmm, remind me to tell Cortez to get some more beer."

"Skeletons?"

She sighed into the beer that she had just lifted to her lips. "Next time we're in Purgatory remind me to tell you about the time that I played strip poker on Tuchanka."

"Strip poker," Vega muttered. "You played strip poker with Wrex on Tuchanka."

Shepard headed towards the elevator while he mulled that little tidbit over. She glanced back to find the Lieutenant watching her very intently then smothered her laughter when it became clear that his eyes were definitely focused just below her waistline. She knew cargo pants highlighted her ass exceptionally well. He seemed to find it very hard to look anywhere else.

"See something you like, Lieutenant?"

Vega's eyes snapped up to meet Shepard's amused gaze. She winked at him then stepped backwards into the elevator. She caught a glimpse as the door closed of him smacking himself on the back of the head. It was one thing to ogle the Commander when she wasn't looking, but getting caught was apparently not something he had expected. Shepard kept trying to place him firmly into her flirt but don't touch category for men. It didn't seem to be working for either of them.

She'd found it incredibly hard lately to resist the urge to run a hand down Vega's chest. She'd always been a sucker for a well-toned body and that damn t-shirt left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Lust was such a fucking annoying thing to deal with. Not to mention the last time that she had gotten involved with a member of the crew, it hadn't gone all that well. Oh, and the little matter of a galactic war to solve and the genophage to cure. Little things like that always seemed to get in the way of sex.

"Dear Cerberus and the Reapers, would you mind waiting on my libido to do its thing before engaging in epic devastation? Is that too much to ask? I'd just like to work out a little frustration before we try to kill each other." She stepped into her cabin with a sigh. "I'm going to need a lot more beer."

She really needed to focus. Images of muscled chests floated through her mind. _Not on that._

"Yea, and that's just working so fucking well, _"_ she muttered before heading over to respond to the flashing light on her private terminal. "I have got to quit with the talking to myself"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

Vega felt like he was suffering from blurry déjà vu. The empty bottle of tequila that was rolling around under his weapons table might be partially responsible for the blurry part. He nudged the bottle with his left foot and it rolled even further away.

_Por qué._

Shepard had met him for a cerveza then bailed to congratulate that pendejo over his nuevo title. He sat up and the world distorted enough that he dropped his head back to the floor with a thud.

"Mr. Vega?" the voice echoed loudly through the empty shuttle bay.

 _Vega winced, "_ Cállate, por please."

He listened to the sound of shoe to floor as his buddy hunted around the shuttle bay for him. Finally, the footsteps grew closer until Cortez was kneeling beside him asking him what the hell was going on.

"She's very caliente," Vega muttered. "The damn mujer is hot like good tequila that burns all the way abajo."

Cortez pulled the glass of tequila out of his hand. "You have definitely had enough, mi hermano."

"Pendejo," His hand shot out for the glass. "Where'd it _está_?"

"You are in serious need of coffee, my friend." Cortez set the glass of tequila on the work bench well out of the drunk's ability to reach. "Vega only you would be incoherent in two languages when drunk."

"I'm not borracho." Vega tried and failed to sit up. "Maybe a poco."

Cortez pushed him back down. "Sit. Stay. Don't puke."

With one eye somewhat open, Vega watched Cortez and his twin head for the elevator. He blinked and tried to refocus his vision. Esteban didn't have a twin. _Dios._ That shit was strong as hell.

"Someone spiked my booze."

Vega stumbled towards the elevator tripping over the stupid ass dog once…maybe twice. He lurched inside as the doors opened right into Shepard who was stepping out. The momentum carried him onto the floor where he watched out of half-opened eyes. The Commander seemed to be pondering over something before finally stepping back into the elevator and tapping the button for her quarters.

"What the hell were you thinking, Vega?" Shepard crouched down next to him while the elevator started moving upwards.

"You have one amazing culo." Vega waved an arm in her general direction. "Damned distracting when you always insist on taking point."

"I don't think I want to know what that means."

"It means…" Vega was momentarily distracted by the sound of the doors opening. "I don't recuerdo."

Shepard leaned down to drag Vega off the floor and towards her couch. "Fuck Vega, I'm putting you on a diet."

"That's pure muscle." Vega flexed a muscle before collapsing onto the couch.

Shepard leaned back against her aquarium with a smile. "So, what exactly is amazing?"

"It's fucking distracting," Vega insisted, before slowly drifting off to sleep much to the Commander's amusement.

It was several hours later when he finally rolled over and landed on the floor with a thud. Vega found himself staring up at the ceiling that was clearly not part of his normal bunk. He was also wedged between a coffee table and couch. After a string of expletives, he managed to turn his broad shoulders enough to scoot backwards. Once he was on his feet, he turned around in confusion. How the hell had he gotten to Shepard's quarters?

"What the fuck?" He exclaimed before rubbing his hand tentatively over his very sore head. "Oh tequila, you are an evil bitch."

"Why do we blame hangovers on the liquid and not the hand that pours it?" Shepard pondered. She handed Vega a couple pills and a glass. "This might help."

"Don't let the tequila fool you, Lola." Vega spoke around the pills. "That shit burns fire into your soul. There is nothing innocent about that shit. You've got to stop drinking that flavored water."

"Flavored water?"

"Yea, you know that shit Esteban likes to call beer." Vega set the empty glass on the coffee table.

Vega turned his attention to Shepard who had moved over to sit on the edge of her bed. He couldn't figure out why she would've rescued him. Now that he was awake and somewhat sober, his memory was starting to return. It took tremendous effort not to turn an unattractive shade of red. Shepard was sure to kick his ass if she ever found out what culo meant. He'd never been interested in finding out what it felt like to be spaced out an airlock.

"So, Lola, why exactly did you bring me up to your cabin?" He decided that tip-toeing around the issue might work to his advantage. The trouble was that he wasn't quite sober enough to manage it. And his feet were too fucking big to tip-toe anyway.

The flirting was fun but had to stop or progress to something more satisfying before he found himself kissing her mid-battle. That might be useful at distracting Cerberus troops, but husks wouldn't give a damn. Her lips were so luscious. She probably tasted… F _ocus, James, Focus._ "Do you normally drag inebriated crew members to your bedroom?"

"No, I don't normally do that." Shepard looked confused.

"Then why?"

"Commander," EDI's voice interrupted. "Admiral Hackett has a message for you over the QEC."

"I'll be right there EDI," Shepard answered. "Fucking hell. The next time they rebuild the Normandy; there will be no fucking intercom in here."

"Duty calls." Vega started towards the elevator only to have Shepard beat him inside.

"Oh and James, I'll be sure to let Garrus take point next time. We wouldn't want you to be distracted in a firefight, unless you find Turian anatomy as amazing as mine." Shepard said with a smirk. The elevator slowly headed for the CIC.

" _¡Qué mujer!"_ Vega uttered once the elevator doors had opened to let Shepard off and then closed once again. "I am so fucked."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation Guide:
> 
> Por qué = Why
> 
> Cállate = Shut Up
> 
> Botella = Bottle
> 
> Traidor = Traitor
> 
> Mi Hermano = My brother
> 
> Está = Go
> 
> Caliente = Hot
> 
> Mujer = Woman
> 
> Abajo = Down
> 
> Poco = Little
> 
> Culo = Ass
> 
> Recuerdo = Remember
> 
> ¡Qué mujer! = What a Woman!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

It had only taken Vega a second to assess the situation when he stepped through the open docking bay doors towards the _Normandy_. Shepard and Major Super Pendejo were clearly squared off in a heated argument. At least this time neither of them was holding a loaded weapon. Vega's finger had itched on the trigger during the face off with Udina, and his gun hadn't been pointed at the councilor. He attempted to sidestep the issue altogether this time. His intentions were solely focused on getting around the quarreling officers when he noticed Alenko grab Shepard by the arm to keep her from leaving.

Vega saw red and before he could really think it through, he had Alenko on the floor with his arm twisted behind his back. James caught the grin on Shepard's face just a second before it disappeared. She waved him off the Major once he had stopped struggling.

Alenko shot to his feet and immediately got into Vega's face. "You just assaulted a superior officer, Lieutenant."

"Higher rank doesn't mean you are superior, pendejo." Vega's eyes narrowed at the finger now pointed in his face. "And I suggest that you back the fuck up."

"Listen, you…"

Vega never did find out what the up-tight cabrón intended to say, Shepard grabbed the Major by the collar and shoved him out the docking bay doors. The Commander yelled something about 'transfer request denied' before stepping back to let the doors close in Alenko's face. James tried and failed miserably to keep his amusement hidden.

Shepard smiled in return, only to sigh deeply as her shoulders and entire body seemed to droop with an unseen weight. Vega had seen through the "commander" façade on a few occasions while she was imprisoned on Earth. He'd seen the weight that she carried on her shoulders; it made him tired just thinking about it. Shepard started to move past him but he placed a gentle hand on her arm to arrest her momentum.

"You ok, Lola?" Vega asked before pulling her into a hug.

"I have lost too many friends because of this god damn war," Shepard muttered against his shirt. "Thane, Mordin, Ash, and now, Alenko might not be dead but he's still gone."

"Pendejo."

Shepard started to laugh so hard that her shoulders shook in his arms. Vega decided that it was possibly the best sound in the world. He also realized that holding his commanding officer in the docking bay probably wasn't the best idea. With one last tight squeeze, he stepped back letting his arms fall to his side. She looked up at him with an intensity that he found hard to decipher.

"I'm sorry about the doc and about Thane. They seemed like good friends. I know how hard it is to lose squad mates." Vega stepped through the doors onto the _Normandy_ with Shepard close behind.

"Thanks James." Shepard leaned up to kiss him gently on the lips before the airlock doors opened.

Vega found it difficult to move as the Commander headed for the War Room to brief Hackett on what they had discovered during the attempted coup.

"Are you all right, Lieutenant?"

Vega started in surprise then glanced over to find Traynor standing in front of him with a concerned look on her face. He waved off her concern as he headed for the elevator. A little kiss shouldn't turn his world upside down. It _shouldn't._

Shepard found it hard to focus on her meeting with the two admirals. The hug had been completely innocent. The kiss that had followed had been mostly innocent. There had certainly been nothing steamy or sexually charged about either of them. The feelings that both generated within her were not so innocent and definitely charged with sexual tension.

The meeting finally ended and Shepard trudged through the CIC into the elevator and up to her cabin. She dropped face-first onto her mattress not bothering to undress or even remove her shoes. Rolling over onto her back, she found herself drawn back to the sensations of Vega's muscular arms around her body. The way he had squeezed her tightly. Her hand started to slide down her body into the top of her cargo pants.

"Commander."

"Joker, if you finish that sentence, I will break every bone in your body, twice." Her hand stopped just inside her panties.

"Fine, but you'll miss Vega kicking Kaidan's ass," Joker retorted.

"Shit."

Shepard shot out of bed so quickly that the sheets wrapped around her ankles and sent her flying into the nearby wall. She rubbed her head while waiting for her vision to clear, and then raced towards the elevator. Between the elevator and waiting for the airlock to open, she felt like she might lose her mind before she even got to the damn fight. By the time she got through the last set of doors, the two men were at what might be considered an impasse.

"Put him down. _Now."_

Shepard watched as Alenko turned towards her only to find her gun pointed directly in his face. With an eye on Alenko, she stepped over towards Vega who was hovering above the ground in a ball of blue energy. Her fingers tightened around her pistol in anger. They itched to pull the trigger, but she breathed deeply trying to maintain control. Two names had already been added to the memorial wall and she was not going to add a third name.

"I can explain," Alenko refused to make eye contact.

"Pendejo," Vega dropped to the ground with a thud.

"You," Shepard pressed a finger into Vega's chest. "Go see the doc then wait for me in the armory."

Vega nodded then turned towards the _Normandy_. Shepard had to hide a smile when the Lieutenant slammed his shoulder into Alenko on the way past. The momentum sent Alenko to the floor. She watched with mixed emotions while Kaidan struggled to his feet. She didn't bother to offer assistance. Instead, she holstered her weapon and waited for him to regain his composure.

"Is there a particular reason that you felt it necessary to assault a member of my crew?"

Alenko shrugged. "He started it."

Shepard felt the control on her temper start to slip. "Major Alenko, it would be wise if you found a transport to take you to whatever post Admiral Hackett has assigned to you sooner rather than later. This is the second time today that my gun has been pointed towards your head and I have resisted the urge to fire. Don't make it a hat trick."

"Shepard."

"There's nothing left to say, is there? Doubt is a contagious disease, because it tends to spread to those that you focus it on. If I took you into battle, I would spend my time wondering whether you'd turn your weapons on me," Shepard said before heading back towards the _Normandy_.

She chose to ignore the Major's attempts to get her attention and let the airlock doors close on his apology. It might be better to ask for forgiveness than permission, but she had run out of reasons to accept those apologies. Joker and Garrus were waiting on the bridge for a detailed report of the fight but she just didn't have the heart for it. Instead, Shepard decided to go down to the Armory and find Vega.

Cortez caught her eye the moment that the doors opened. He was working on the shuttle but paused to motion towards Vega's little corner where the Lieutenant was currently pummeling the hell out of the punching bag. Maybe they both needed to vent a little frustration.

"Care to dance, James?" Shepard tossed her hoodie aside and bounced on her feet to warm up a little.

"I think assaulting one _superior_ officer a day is sufficient," Vega shrugged before joining her in the middle of the bay.

With a deft surge forward, Shepard caught him with a glance blow to the chin. "There's a difference between superior and commanding."

"Oh?" Vega dodged a second punch and threw one of his own.

Shepard ducked underneath his arm then with a sudden lunge to the right, she took Vega down. The momentum carried her down as well and she ended up straddling his waist. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "The difference is that I am always on top."

Vega's hands slid up her legs to rest lightly on her waist. "Is that so?"

"Am I interrupting something?" Cortez coughed from just behind the two on the floor.

Shepard smirked as Vega blushed. "Not anymore."

"Oh good, because Joker wanted me to let you know that we're heading for the monastery. It should be about an hour before we get there." Cortez turned his back to allow them a moment to regain their composure.

"Suit up Vega, looks like we're going to rescue some Asari nuns." Shepard said.

"I'll look forward to hearing your confession," Vega laughed. The elevator doors closed just as Vega was tossing a towel at Cortez. "Don't even go there, Esteban. I'll crash the shuttle again."

Shepard laughed all the way up to CIC where she paused to check her private terminal for messages. The laughter quickly faded away when she found a message from Hackett that included a formal complaint from Major Kaidan Alenko accusing her of breaking regs with Lieutenant James Vega. The complaint also accused Shepard of failing to enforce Alliance regulations on Vega when he attacked Alenko. She clenched her fists to avoid sending a rapid-fire response saying that Alenko could go fuck himself. She knew that probably wouldn't help solve anything.

"Traynor, get Hackett on the QEC now." Shepard stormed away from her terminal towards the War Room where she paced in front of the comm impatiently.

"Commander, is there something that I can do for you?" Hackett asked.

"I received the official notice that a complaint was filed against a member of my crew." Shepard tried to keep her anger under control. "Lieutenant Vega was not the aggressor in their pissing match, Admiral. Alenko not only questioned my allegiance during the coup, but he also refused to take my denial of his request for transfer back to the _Normandy_ well. If James is guilty of anything, it is simply having my back."

"Frankly Shepard, I've got better things to deal with than the love lives of those on the front lines." Hackett seemed more annoyed than she remembered seeing him in the past. "Alenko has been assigned to the biotics squad. Perhaps some time in the trenches with other soldiers will remind him that there are more important things to be concerned about."

"Yes sir."

"With regards to breaking regs with Lieutenant Vega," Hackett paused to answer a question from someone that Shepard couldn't see. "The world might end before we finish building this war machine. If we do lose this fight, I sure as hell do not plan on worrying about whether or not you've found someone to share those last minutes with. Just don't let it affect your decisions in battle. Hackett out."

Shepard stood staring at the empty space where the hologram had been in stunned amusement. "That is an interesting development."

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

"James?"

Vega looked up from the shotgun that he was disassembling to find Shepard standing by the elevator shifting from one foot to the other anxiously. He waved her over with a grin.

"Do you ever think about those long conversations we had in the brig?" She hopped up onto the weapons table.

He watched her swing her legs for a moment. It was incredibly adorable, but there was no way in hell he intended on voicing his thoughts aloud. A cough from the "cute commander" reminded him that she had asked a question. _Focus, Marine, Focus._

"Of course, you still owe me twenty credits from that last game of poker." He set the shotgun aside and took a seat beside her.

"Not sure this is weight-rated for a baby Krogan," Shepard nudged Vega lightly with her shoulder.

"Careful, Lola, you might hurt my feeling." Vega tried to sound light-hearted while ignoring the warmth spreading through his body when her leg brushed up against his. "I just have the one, but it bruises easy."

"Impossible," Shepard laughed so hard that her shoulders shook. "I'd have to get through all that muscle."

"It is rather magnificent, no?" Vega flexed his arms. "Speaking of magnificent, scuttlebutt has it that a certain quarian admiral limped back to the flotilla with a Shepard-sized bruise. Is it possible that you gut checked the admiral of the heavy fleet?"

"Bastard tried to blow us up."

Vega watched her out of the corner of his eye. "I heard you took one giant step for _Normandy-_ kind out there."

"Yes." Shepard sobered immediately, the laughter fading into a void of nothingness. "It was an amazing view out there."

"Lola," James reached out to take her clenched hands in his own. "The first time that we played poker was after you'd had a nightmare. You never told me what it was about. I'll never forget the way that you grabbed at your throat when you woke up. It was about being space, wasn't it?"

She nodded.

"You want to talk about it now?"

Shepard seemed to struggle with tears before finally finding her voice. "That fucking tube broke away out there. It just drifted out from under my feet. A split second decision to lean forward was all that kept me from falling into emptiness. And how fucked up is it that all I could think of was you. Of dying without…"

Vega's head snapped up so fast that his vision blurred for a second. "Lola, I beg you, finish that sentence before Joker decides to interrupt."

James felt the commander try to pull away. His hands tightened around hers instinctively. Instead of fighting against his grasp, Shepard stared down at their hands in silence for a long while. Then to his surprise, she swung a leg around to straddle his lap. He let go of her hands to hold tightly to her waist. His breath caught in his throat when she leaned forward to trace the scars on his face with her thumb. She kept her eyes closed while running her fingers lightly over the stubble on his cheeks.

He took advantage of her closed eyes to stare unabashedly at the fit body in his arms. It took a herculean effort for him not to move as her thumb slid across his lips. The fingers of her other hand slid along his jawline. It was almost like Shepard was trying to map out his face for her memory. She shifted slightly and he was gifted with a glorious view of her cleavage.

"My eyes are up here, Lieutenant." Shepard's eyes finally opened and her hands dropped down to rest lightly on top of his shoulders.

"Mine aren't." He grinned then slowly raised his eyes up to meet hers.

"I want to remember you. Every time my eyes close, all I can see are the ones that I haven't been able to save. I see the millions of lost souls that the reapers have already claimed. The fighting gets more complicated and more difficult." Shepard leaned her head forward until it rested against his chest. "I need a reprieve from the weight of war. I need something other than fear of death or annihilation to keep me going."

Vega slid his arms further around her back to crush Shepard tightly against his chest. "Would the undying affection of one handsome N7-in-training help?"

"Handsome?"

"Have you looked at my ass lately?" Vega asked. "Cortez assures me that it's at least a 8.5."

"8.5?" Shepard slid out of his arms. "I hadn't noticed."

"That's what happens when you always insist on taking point. Unlike you, I get the joy of watching prime human flesh prance around the field of battle in armor." Vega stood.

"I'll let Garrus know that you appreciate his moves. Because I know that I do not prance." Shepard glanced up to find Traynor approaching.

"Commander, Lieutenant." Traynor rushed up. "You've got an urgent message from Admiral Hackett regarding something called Leviathan."

Vega watched as the two women headed towards the elevator. "That is one fine ass. I give it at least a ten…maybe higher."

"I heard that."

"Good."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

"She's lost her goddamn mind," Vega swore before taking down yet another husk. "I hate these guys. Creepy fucking bastards."

"You just realized this about her?' Garrus laughed before scoping out his next target.

They were keeping the Reaper forces off Shepard while she charged battery packs enough to get the Titan ADS up and running. Vega was going to pretend that he had the best track record when it came to decision making. His might be considered reckless at best. But the idea of _his_ Shepard leaping off that pier in a goddamn tin can with no backup into unknown waters was beyond infuriating. How many life or death situations could one person survive? He wasn't going to think too closely about the depth of meaning that he had infused into that one little seemingly insignificant _his_ either.

"Shepard," Vega stepped towards the Commander once the enemy was down. "You can't seriously be considering…"

Shepard slid down out of the Titan to let Cortez check the systems. "Do you have a better idea? Maybe we could crash the shuttle into the ocean and drown? Or maybe you could try swimming down there?"

"Funny."

"I thought so," Garrus smirked.

"You are not helping," Vega shot angry look at the turian.

"James."

Vega turned to find Shepard standing just behind him. "Lola."

"I'll be fine, just a little deep sea exploration." She winked then with a quick squeeze of his hand, she clambered up into the diving suit.

Vega watched as the Commander walked slowly to the edge of the platform. The sound of incoming husks momentarily distracted him and he turned back to find nothing but crashing waves. With Cortez monitoring her descent, Vega focused his attention on the hordes of husks. It was a never-ending stream of cannon fodder that had Vega seriously concerned about the amount of ammo available.

"Shepard!" Cortez' panicked voice caught his attention. "I've lost her. I can't reach her. This damn thing is causing interference."

The minutes dragged by like hours. While Cortez tried desperately to at least locate Shepard, Vega and Garrus handled the unending barrage husks. Vega was starting to worry that this was a last stand. It wasn't the first time that he had considered death in battle. He ducked back behind the barrier for a moment to reload. He could see Esteban still fucking around with his omni-tool trying to reach the Commander.

"Yo, Esteban, you're buying the fucking tequila when we get back to the Normandy," Vega raised his shotgun in a salute at his buddy. "Any luck reaching Shepard?"

"No."

Vega turned away to hide the emotion in his eyes. Garrus reached for more rounds for his sniper rifle and James took the opportunity to take out his anger on the enemy. He kept telling himself that Shepard had managed to survive death once. The ocean wasn't going to take her down either. The mind-fucking alien was another matter.

"Try her again," He yelled over the shotgun blasts.

"It's pointless," Cortez lowered his rifle for a moment.

"Do it anyway, Esteban. Now."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Vega," Cortez crouched down beside the wall and tried to reach the Commander. "Nothing."

"Keep trying.

"Lieutenant," Garrus glanced over at him. "Perhaps he should focus more on helping us stay alive?"

Vega ground his teeth together to keep from cursing the world in general and one stubborn ass Alliance officer. "Pendejos."

"You really need to expand your vocabulary," Garrus turned back towards the enemy.

Vega gathered his strength and raised his shotgun once again. A loud crash drew his attention to the right. The Titan flew up out of the ocean and with it came relief. Relief turned to concern as he watched Shepard tumble from the mech and collapse in a heap within reach of two brutes.

Vega rushed forward as Garrus and Cortez provided cover to lift Shepard into his arms. He carried her into the shuttle and laid her gently down while Cortez rushed over to get the shuttle into the air. The Reaper forces seemed to be attacking themselves, so James assumed that the mission had been somewhat successful.

Garrus applied medi-gel to the Commander though there were no visible wounds aside from blood at her nose. Vega tried anxiously to warm her hands. He watched as she finally awoke and immediately started hacking and coughing. He sat back on his heels to give her a little space to catch her breath.

He waited patiently for her to regain her composure. Helping her to her feet, she spoke briefly to Ann Bryson who had recovered from her brief indoctrination and was continuing her father's work for the Alliance. The call ended and she finally turned towards him. Vega's hands shot out to grab her and pull her tight against his body. His lips crashed down on hers, oblivious to the audience of two watching them. Finally, he moved back, though his hands held tightly to her arms.

"Do not EVER do that again, Lola," Vega's hands shook slightly. "Never again."

"Hey Joker, tell Adams that he just won the pool," Cortez's voice caught Vega's attention.

"What pool?" Vega's eyes narrowed on the pilot.

"We've had a betting pool going for days on when you two would get together," Garrus answered.

"Seriously?"

"Damn engineer just won 2,000 credits," Joker's voice echoed over the comm.

"Can I court martial all of them?" Shepard's voice was still hoarse.

"Sure, but they wouldn't leave anyway." Vega collapsed in one of the shuttle seats pulling Shepard down with him.

"Hey Joker, tell Adams that he's buying drinks the next time we're on the Citadel," Shepard leaned her head against Vega's shoulder.

"Pendejos. I'll kick their fucking asses for this shit, Shepard." Vega's words fell on deaf ears as Shepard had already dozed off. He leaned his head down until it rested against the top of hers. He ignored the smirk on Garrus' face. And flipped Cortez the bird before letting himself enjoy the sound of her breathing.

Six days later, Vega found himself pacing in the CIC for the ninth time in three days. Traynor was trying to ignore his presence and he was trying his best to get an answer out of her.

"For the last time, Lieutenant, the Commander did not tell me or anyone else where specifically that she was going. Cortez dropped her off and that is all that I know." Traynor's patience gave before his. "Bull-headedness is not an attractive trait."

Vega shook his fists in the air and stormed off to harass someone else. He ran through his entire swear vocabulary in the short time it took him to get to the elevator and then down to the crew deck. Tali and Garrus took one look at him and ducked back into the lounge.

"Where is she?" Vega didn't bother with hello as he stepped into Liara's quarters.

Liara looked up from the datapad in her hands. "Omega would be my best guess. Aria has gotten particularly skilled at blocking my attempts to infiltrate her networks."

"Omega?" Vega was momentarily stunned. "Omega? She fucking went to a Cerberus controlled station without any of us?"

"Yes."

Before Liara could expand on her yes, Vega was halfway to the elevator. He angrily punched the button for the armory. He resisted the urge to punch it repeatedly. He finally stepped out to find both the shuttle and Cortez back in their usual spots.

"Hey, Esteban, where is the Commander?" Vega leaned against the shuttle that Cortez was working on.

Cortez glanced up with an amused look on his face. "I believe that she is in the war room debriefing Admiral Hackett on the Omega mission."

"Gracias."

"Mr. Vega," Cortez called out just as James was stepping into the lift once again. "She left a package on your work bench."

Vega stepped out of the elevator just as the doors were closing. He ignored the laughter coming from the other side of the shuttle. He found a square box on the bench with a note on top. The note read simply, "Sorry" and was unsigned. He ripped the ribbon and wrapping from the present then carefully pulled off the lid.

"Dios."

Inside the little container, he found a solitary blue _Normandy_ ornament*. His fingers trembled slightly while plucking the fragile replica from the box. Glancing around, he finally hung it from a nearby book that rest just above his bench. He tapped it with his finger and watched it spin for a moment. Then turning, he headed back towards the lift and up to Shepard's quarters to wait for the meeting to be over.

Ten minutes later, he was about to give up when a chime alerted him to an imminent arrival. Shepard stepped out seconds later. She stopped mid-step at the sight of Vega.

"Lola."

"James," she ducked around him into her quarters.

"Didn't I say never do that again?" Vega followed her inside.

"I didn't dive into the ocean the entire time that I was gone." She leaned back against the desk. "Aria was rather insistent about my joining her alone."

Vega was silent for a moment, then he finally moved towards her. He reached out to gently unbuckle and then remove her armor. He removed her gauntlets, shoulder and chest plate, tossing them aside. He ignored her grumbling at his treatment of her armor and eased her legs out of the greaves.

"This can't go anywhere, James."

Vega's head shot up. "What? Why?"

"Easy there, don't break anything important with sudden movements." Shepard chuckled. "This can't go anywhere right now. We're less than an hour away from Rannoch. We've got an Admiral to save and a Geth station to shut down."

Vega's eyes narrowed, then he reached out to grab her by the waist. Lifting her up, he carried her back into the shower. "That's plenty of time."

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

"You just can't help yourself, can you, Lola?"

Shepard moved further into her quarters to find Vega lounging on her bed. "Are we comfortable, Lieutenant?"

"Claro que si." Vega patted the bed next to him. "Those clothes look very uncomfortable."

Shepard stripped down to her undershirt and shorts then stepped towards the bed. Vega reached out to grab her shirt and pull her down onto the bed beside him. She curled up next to him while he wrapped his arms around her tightly. She buried her face against his neck and breathed deeply.

"So what exactly do you have against bringing backup into battle with giant cockroaches?" Vega whispered while his hands gently massaged her tight back muscles.

"Lesson number five for any N7: Never ask your squad to take a risk that you won't take yourself." She relaxed into his arms.

"How did taking on a Reaper with a laser gun seem like a good risk?" Vega's arms tightened around her.

"It worked." Shepard grinned.

"Loca."

"Commander Shepard," Traynor's voice filtered into the room. "There's been a development at the Temple of Athame. Thessia is under heavy Reaper attack."

"Shit." Shepard leapt off the bed, pulling her armor back on as she raced for the door. She stopped just before the door to look back at the man on her bed. "Vega, suit up. Tell Cortez where we are heading."

Vega caught up to Shepard in the elevator. He reached down to squeeze her hand in his own before the doors opened and she headed towards the war room to brief Liara. James had always believed in hoping for the best, but something about the mission to the temple felt off. From the look that Esteban gave him when he stepped into the shuttle, he wasn't the only one feeling that way. While the Doc and Shepard went over the details of the temple, Vega watched the live feed from Thessia with growing concern.

Several hours later, his gut instinct proved correct. The mission to the temple had been a failure. The ride back to the _Normandy_ had been a silent one. Liara looked completely gutted. The Commander kept her gaze focused on the floor and Vega was at a loss for words for once in his life. He tried to comfort both of them but the moment the shuttle landed in the armory, they were gone. Shepard headed up to CIC for a debrief but ended up in an argument with Joker before locking herself in her quarters.

"Lola?" Vega banged his fist on the door to her cabin.

"Vega, not now," Shepard finally opened the door still wearing the dirty, bloodied armor from the last mission.

"Esta bien?" Vega looked her over in concern.

Shepard ignored both the question and the concern. He followed her when she walked over to the battered helmet on her desk. She ran her hand over the jagged edges of it. Vega caught her hand before she could toss it across the room. Her scream of frustration was muffled by Vega's chest.

"We'll get the fuckers, Lola. Yo prometo. Kai Leng will not get away for a second time." Vega slowly walked over towards the bed. He started to peel off her armor but she pulled away. "Lola?"

"I failed." Shepard moved away from his outstretched hands. "Now I have to explain to the Asari Councilor that her planet has gone up in flames. Then I get to inform Hackett that Cerberus has the data that we need to destroy the Reapers. Everything depends on me. It's all on my shoulders and…I failed."

"Lola," Vega reached out for her again.

"I've got to debrief Hackett." Shepard ducked away from him and left him staring at the closing elevator doors with a concerned look on his face.

An hour later, Vega wandered into the lounge looking for the tequila that Cortez had promised to order. A heavy sigh caught his attention and he turned to find Shepard sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. Her knees were pulled up against her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs. James watched her for a moment, then walked over and leaned his back against the wall and slid down to sit beside her.

"You ok?"

Shepard's only response was another huge sigh.

"Debrief go well?"

Another sigh.

"Want to dance?" Vega tried another tactic.

"No."

"Want to sit here and sulk?" Vega felt like he was poking a sleeping Krogan.

Shepard's nostrils flared slightly but she showed no other signs of response.

James considered his options. Finally, he stood and yanked her up off the ground. Before she could respond, he tossed her over his shoulder and headed towards the elevator. He ignored the questioning glances from the crew and used his elbow to hit the armory floor button. Shepard remained still in his arms and it was starting to make him nervous.

The moment the doors opened to reveal the armory, everything changed. Shepard went limp in his arms. The loss of tension caused her to slip out of his grasp. She rolled away from him, hooking her leg around his as she went. The change of momentum sent him careening to the floor face first. Before he could move, Shepard placed a knee in his back and twisted his arm behind him.

"Should I get popcorn?" Cortez's voice drifted over to the struggling pair.

Shepard released Vega then offered a hand to help him up. She seemed to be struggling with her thoughts. Once on his feet, he reached out for her but she sidestepped him.

"Lola?"

"Be ready at 0800, we're heading to Sanctuary." Shepard's voice was strained. He could see the tension in her body.

He watched her storm towards the elevator. She stopped at the closed doors with her hand hovering over the button. Vega waved Cortez away and stepped up behind her.

"What if I can't find a way to defeat the Reapers?" Shepard's voice was barely audible.

Vega wrapped his arms around her. "You will. You just need a lot of Thresher Maws."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loose Transalations:
> 
> Claro Que Si = Of course, yes.
> 
> Esta bien = Are you ok?
> 
> Yo prometo = I promise


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

Every soldier had demons to face. Vega faced his demons with the collectors. The dead haunted him frequently over that. It was just something that he learned to deal with. It was hard to watch Shepard face hers on Horizon. Cerberus. Fucking pendejos. He wanted to rage, to burn the place to the ground. But that wouldn't do a damn thing, and it certainly wouldn't help Shepard. She handled it like she did everything else; she put a bullet through the head of any reaper or Cerberus troops that got in her way.

"Going somewhere?" He found her in her quarters packing a few things into a small bag.

"Maybe." She glanced over at him with a smile on her face. "Admiral's orders actually, we're all on shore leave until the _Normandy_ is cleared by the techs."

"Is Joker ok?"

"He might need some therapy." Shepard grinned at him. "Anderson wants me to check out his apartment for some reason. Meet me there later?"

Vega reached out for her but she ducked under his arms.

"Aye, aye," he said. "Don't get into trouble without me."

"Who me?" She grinned innocently then shoved him towards the door. "Out you go, I have to finish packing."

Shepard glanced around the wall. _Still there_. She ducked back down. In the grand scheme of things, shore leave was not going so fucking well. She'd fallen through a fucking fish tank. Mercs were chasing her across the ward. Vacations sucked. She really needed medi-gel and a shotgun; maybe back-up would be good as well. She also needed Brooks to take a deep breath.

She was just a few yards away from the used skycar lot. Garrus said one of the squad would be waiting for her there. She took down the last of the mercs, and then trudged towards the door. She was wet, tired and still hungry. Someone was going to pay for all of this.

"What did I say about diving, Lola?" Vega stood on the other side of the door with shotgun in hand.

"Falling isn't diving. And it was definitely falling." Shepard rolled her eyes at him before impatiently waiting for him to apply medi-gel.

"So who are these guys?" Vega finished up with her injuries.

"Mercs with guns who seriously need an attitude adjustment." Shepard searched for a way to open the nearby gates. "They also seem to not like me at all."

"You are a wealth of useful information." Vega wandered over to the sealed office door, he rapped on the glass with his knuckles. "Yo, can you open the gate? Gracias."

"Do Volus' speak Spanish?" Shepard pondered while they waited for the shuttle.

"Priorities, Lola, priorities." Vega tossed her a spare thermal clip.

An hour later, they were all hanging out in her shiny, new apartment waiting for Liara to find something useful. Shepard left them to their own devices while she headed up to shower and change. She dressed in clean clothing that thankfully didn't smell like dead fish. She was towel drying her hair as she walked out of the bathroom to find Vega sitting on the bed.

"Lola."

"James." She tossed the towel in her hand aside.

"Did you really fall through a fish tank?" Vega wasn't trying all that hard to hide his amusement.

"I wanted really _fresh_ sushi." She stepped forward to stand between his legs.

He reached up to grab the front of her hoodie and pulled her down far enough that he could kiss her. He was leaning back on the bed, taking her with him, when a cough at the door interrupted them. Shepard rested her head against his chest for a moment.

"What is it?" Shepard stood back up and glared over at Cortez who was leaning against the door frame.

"Dr. T'soni found something." Cortez shot an amused glance at Vega then disappeared.

Shepard sighed, and then with a wink at Vega, followed Cortez out of the room. Once they'd figured out the next course of action, Shepard decided that Liara would join her at the Casino with Brooks. Vega wasn't pleased by the decision.

"You need me, Lola." He followed her back into the bedroom where she was looking for a dress that fit the black tie criteria.

"James, I'm not going to argue with you. Liara will be better able to handle any hacking problems that arise. You can't kick the electronics in a Casino and hope that they don't notice." Shepard pulled out a little black dress.

Vega temporarily lost his ability to talk let alone argue when she started to strip in front of him. He tried to reach for her but she used a biotic stasis to keep him away. He hovered just about the ground while she shimmied into the tight dress.

"This is cheating," he complained.

"True." She reached back to zip up the dress. "The reason that you can't go is that you in black tie would just be too damn distracting."

She was half-way out the door when she finally released Vega. She heard a thud followed by a soft curse when he hit the ground. Liara gave her a confused glance as she laughed all the way to the elevator. Vega was good for the soul. He never failed to make her laugh.

The Commander wasn't laughing when they got back to the apartment. Someone had beaten them to Khan. Whoever it was, they wanted Shepard gone. She was going to space the fucker out the nearest airlock. She let EDI work on the data that they had brought back and took a seat at the piano in the corner.

Vega wandered over from the kitchen to take a seat next to her on the piano. He bumped his shoulder against hers. Shepard leaned her head over on his shoulder for a moment. She picked out a simple tune on the piano while she took time to gather her thoughts. The personal nature of this latest attack was really starting to bug her.

"You ok, Lola?" Vega wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I keep feeling like we are missing something really important here." Shepard frowned up at him.

"I certainly missed you in that dress."

"Focus, James."

"What? That dress is damn near criminal on you." He took a long slow look at her.

Shepard rolled her eyes and pushed him off the piano bench.

"Hey Lola, promise me that you'll wear that again." Vega leaned against the piano.

"I'll even let you take it off of me." Shepard ran her hands across the piano keys before finally standing and heading towards EDI and Brooks.

"Damn." Vega watched her walk enjoying, enjoying the way the dress clung to her in all the right places.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

James found Shepard in the casino with Garrus. The clone was dead and so was Brooks. The damn woman had tried to run. James had taken great pleasure in putting a bullet in the back of her head. The moment that he'd seen Lola dangling from the _Normandy_ was etched in his mind. A few more seconds and they'd have lost her. But he'd managed to grab her just in time. He almost wished that they'd gotten to shoot the damn clone. Coward had chosen to fall instead.

_Fucking Cerberus._

_Even when they weren't the ones actually messing with her, they were still at fault._

He stepped through a crowd gathered around the dance floor on the second level of the casino. Vakarian was leading _his_ Lola around in what looked like a tango. The turian spun her out and she ended up stopping in front of James. She winked up at him.

 _Damn_.

The dress… _damn._

Garrus reached out for her again but Vega intercepted. He grabbed Shepard by the waist and spun her away the outstretched talon. He'd _shared_ enough for one day. If anyone was going to get that close to Lola, it was going to be James.

"Looking good, Lola." He let his hand drift down her back a little.

"You too." She looked over the suit that he was wearing. "Do you have a girlfriend, soldier?"

"Yea, I'm a kinda attached to her. She's difficult, but totally worth it." Vega dodged the elbow she tried to dig into his side. "So…where to?"

"How do you feel about hot tubs?"

He never got a chance to tell her his thoughts on her naked in a hot tub. Traynor interrupted over the comm to let Shepard know that the repairs on the _Normandy_ were complete and that they had the location of Cerberus base. Admiral Hackett had requested that they head immediately to the Horse Head Nebula to attack the Cronos station.

"You ready to kick some Cerberus ass?" Shepard asked while they headed over to the shuttle that Cortez had brought to pick up the rest of the crew that had been hanging out around the strip.

"Bring it on, Lola." He stepped into the Kodiak and over to speak with Steve.

When they got back to the ship, Shepard headed towards the War Room almost immediately to speak with the Admiral. Vega waited for her in her quarters. He was playing with the chess set on her desk when she finally walked into the room.

"We've got about five hours before we _deal_ with Cerberus." Shepard walked over to stand in front of him. She turned slowly and gestured to the back of the dress. "Could you?"

Vega lifted his hand to slowly unzip the dress. His fingers glided down the expanse of her back that was revealed. "Five hours? That's plenty of time, Lola. Plenty."

"Is that so?" She glanced down at his suit. "You're a little over-dressed for the shower that I'm planning on taking, Marine."

"It's so hard to be loved just for my body." James pushed her dress off her shoulders then started removing his own shirt.

"It's that ass. I'm powerless against its power." She laughed then wandered into the bathroom.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not really changing much of the parts that were already written.
> 
> Bioware still owns all, sadly.

Vega found he didn’t have much to laugh about three days later. He sat in a chair beside a hospital bed in one of the many make-shift medic tents set up in London. The doctors raced around him from bed to bed, he didn’t see any of them.

His attention was solely focused on the injured Commander. The last days of the Reaper war had gone by in a blur. Shepard had ignored the pendejos in the Admiralty who thought her decision to head to Sanctuary was a mistake. She disregarded their thoughts on how the attack on Cronos should go as well

And like so many times before, Shepard had been right. Vega had never felt more proud to stand behind a commanding officer as he had when they realized the Crucible had fired. He’d watched from the _Normandy_ as the reapers fell.

His heart had damn near jumped out of his chest when he realized they were going to have to leave her on the Citadel after Hackett’s order to leave the system came over the comm.   He had walked away from the bridge as Garrus forced Joker to follow orders.   It felt _wrong_.

Several hours later, the _Normandy_ crew joined other Alliance units in the search for survivors on the badly damaged Citadel. It took him _too_ long to find Shepard. She wasn’t in great shape when he found her either.

Now the most amazing woman that Vega had ever met was lifeless on a cot in a tent.

It made him want to kill the damn reapers for a second time.

“You keep thinking that fucking hard, _James_ , and you might break something. Can you afford to break something in that head of yours?” Shepard sounded like she’d been drinking sand.

“That’s rich coming from someone who has been sleeping for days, Lola.” Vega reached up to press the button that dangled next to her bed to let the docs know she was awake. “You look good.”

“I look like shit.” She winced as she sat up slowly. “Did it work?”

“Hell yes.”

“Good.” Shepard glanced down at the large hand that reached out to cover hers. “How you doing, Lieutenant?”

“He’ll do much better if he gets some rest.” Doctor Chakwas joined them. She frowned down at Vega. “The Commander isn’t going to disappear if you take a nap, Lieutenant.”

“She might.”

“Go on, soldier. I’ll be here.” Shepard grinned at him.

He hopped onto an empty cot not far from Shepard’s. It was getting dark outside when he finally woke from his _nap_. He glanced over to find Shepard reading a datapad. There were several others strewn across the blanket.

_“Lola.”_

“We got an entire world to rebuild.” Shepard tossed one of the reports to him. “Not to mention the rest of known civilization. How good are you with a hammer, soldier?”

He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on his face. “I’ve been known to hammer away at things, Lola. Never heard any complaints about my skill.”

Shepard held her side as she laughed. She sobered after a moment. “You planning on sticking around?”

“For you?”

“Yeah.”

“Always, Lola.”


End file.
